


This is Love.  1/1.

by punky_96



Category: Peter Pan & Related Fandoms, The Devil Wears Prada (2006)
Genre: F/F, she's a Peter Pan fairy sort of character
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-03-19
Updated: 2018-03-19
Packaged: 2019-04-04 10:34:41
Rating: Mature
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 7,734
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/14018385
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/punky_96/pseuds/punky_96
Summary: Re-post from LJ.AU:  The twins are visited by a fairy who doesn’t know what love is.Note from the original post:  I haven't been able to write much these days and I wasn't expecting to write this today, but here it is :)  I have wanted to write something with Peter Pan/Hooked/???? for a long time but haven't been able to.  I have no idea why I was today.  I wish it was beta'd and longer, but in my present state of the muse, I don't think I'd return to it if I left it unfinished and unposted.





	This is Love.  1/1.

_**This Is Love**_  
  
The wind blew and the gauzy curtains that their mother picked out waved into the room. Looking up from their book, Caroline and Cassidy rolled their eyes. ‘Why can’t we have mini-blinds like normal people?’ They had asked their mum to no avail. Instead, they each had this fancy valance with embroidered edges and fancy little strawberry vines that crisscrossed everywhere along with that strange under curtain that kept others from looking in, but not the sunlight or in this case moonlight from getting in. They had to admit that was pretty cool, but had made a silent pact to never tell their mother. Why wasn’t it enough that every other window in the house had all that fancy crap?  
  
Pulling away from their unspoken, mutual annoyance, the twins looked back down at their book. The illustrations had captured their attention almost as much as the stories. Before they could re-open Pandora’s box, their focus was shattered by a noise at the windowsill.  
  
Stepping into the room was a tall woman with wide brown eyes, her hair pulled up in a bun, her body covered in green leggings and what looked to be a recorder tucked in her waist band. The wind stilled, letting the gauzy curtain fall straight again, and the woman’s incandescent wings fluttered behind her until they disappeared.  
  
Fears were quickly trampled on. Either it was time again for another installment of ‘mother’s assistant is CRAZY’ or the beautiful intruder was nothing short of miraculous. The brown eyes sparkled with delight as the woman stepped further into the room. She looked around the room without actually acknowledging the twins. The girls sat forward bunching the covers at their feet and ogling this creature with delight.  
  
The tingle down their spines told them that this situation had the hint of magic, but they had to confirm. Caroline asked her, “Are you mum’s new assistant?”  
  
The strange brunette laughed as she looked at the twins. Doubling over with laughter, she wrapped her arms around herself laughing. “What is assistant?” The last word came out funny as if it was a foreign word on her tongue.  
  
Despite themselves the twins scooted closer, the covers falling off the bed to the floor. Cassidy explained the word like their teacher always did in school, “An assistant is someone who helps another person. Are you mum’s new helper?”  
  
Ignoring the question, the strange woman stepped forward and scooped up their book from the pile of bedding on the floor. At her sudden movements, the twins gasped and sat back. An actual trail of stars followed their book as the woman twirled with it in her arms. “Delightful!” Her brown eyes hungrily took in the story images on the pages and she trailed her fingertips across them, bringing them to life. “Why do you need wonder in a book?” The woman stepped close and kneeled at the foot of their bed, her eyes wide and curious.  
  
The twins dismissed the oddity of the question as quite normal within the current context. Instead, they looked at each other thinking of their lives. The house was dark; it had been since the death of their father when they were young. Only their room and their mother’s escaped the darkness of the deep woods, burgundy carpets and deep green blackout curtains. Light and possibility had been banished from the house except for a strawberry vine filled brightness that seemed to speak of hope. The addition of their step-father had done little to help. His presence seemed to tamp down their mother’s spirit, until she only worked and went through the motions of life. He brought them the deep rumblings of arguments and the clinking of glass bottles against a tumbler. The twins called out to their mother to join them at recitals and soccer games, but she seemed to be slipping away from them. So they sought refuge in their world of words and pictures, much like they imagined their mother took refuge from the darkness of the world in the pretty clothes, models, and the magazine.  
  
Thoughts were one thing, but articulation was another. The twins had never been able to quantify what was missing in their lives. They had two parents, a house, a great school, and all the things that money could buy. What was missing went left unsaid, even now that they were asked directly because it was too fine to put a point on. The closest they could come was the word ‘hope,’ because in quiet moments their mum said she lived on it.  
  
As if hearing their thoughts the brunette stood tall, reaching out to them, “I see.” She said stepping back, her wings fluttering out and open and her hands reaching out beckoning to them. “Come.” The woman flexed her arms in invitation and then stepped back again and again to the window. The breeze had picked up and the thin curtain was billowing into the room. The bright half-moon was low on the horizon just above the buildings out their window.  
  
The twins stood holding hands and wanting with all their hearts to follow. Caroline spoke for them, “We can’t.” They each were thinking of their mother. Not the dangers of the situation, but the desperate wish they had for her to be with them. It just felt right.  
  
Again their thoughts seemed to have triggered the woman’s words. “Your mother.” The brunette tilted her head back and forth looking at them and coming to some kind of decision. “I will bring the wonder to you.” She slipped the recorder from her waist and looking at the girls, she blew a few simple notes into the nighttime air.  
  
At once, the sheer curtain flapped hard enough to snap and a gust of air shimmered into the room leaving a trail of stars behind it. Their door opened without a sound and another gust of air blew into the room. Again the girls looked to each other wondering what was happening as the woman settled her hands on her hips and let out a peal of laughter that warmed their hearts.  
  
In their mother’s room, Patricia lifted her head with a grunt and stood as quickly as her aged hips allowed her to. Sniffing at the magic in the air, the St. Bernard marched at once down the hall where the girls’ door was open into the hallway. Entering the doorway, she smelled the scent of an intruder and began to bark loudly.  
  
Miranda jolted awake at the noise, her heart filling with dread as dangers great and small filled her mind. She slipped out of the bed and without thought down the hall to her babies. Standing next to a barking Patricia, Miranda gasped as she took in the sight of a model beautiful brunette dressed in green laughing with her hands akimbo. Her hair was up in a bun drawing Miranda’s eye to the brown orbs filled with joy. They were warm and welcoming and something in Miranda fluttered under the press of her hand against her chest. With her other hand, Miranda reached down touching Patricia’s back. With a flutter of wings and a smile of rosy red cupid lips, the woman stepped around the curtain edge and crawled into the window ledge. As Miranda took a step towards the mystery, the woman jumped out of the window. Rushing forward and around the curtain as well, Miranda watched as the woman dropped toward the street, until her arms spread wide like wings and the barely there appendages flapped hard thrice until she had risen. Just when her silhouette was held in the cup of the moon, they heard a peal of her laughter return to them.  
  
The breeze died out and the light press of the curtain held Miranda in a soft caress. The twins stood in wonder as they watched their mother linger silently at the window. It had been so long since she had seemed interested in anything that it filled the twins with hope.  
  
Summing up the entire situation of questions, frustrations, and wonder, Patricia let out a solitary bark.  
  
A list of dangers a mile long presented itself in the twins’ minds and they held tightly to each other’s hands as they noticed strange hints of change in their room. Small details had been added to what was already there: a handful of shells on the shelf, a playful vine and fauns dancing to Bacchanalian music on their lamp shade, the book that had been dropped back onto the pile of covers whose image still moved. They saw Patricia as the voice of reason, shouting out the dangers of the world. Doubt held them still as their mother slowly turned away from the window and out from behind the curtain.  
  
“Who was that?” Miranda asked them.  
  
Caroline felt the concern wash over her from their mum. Her answer sought to assuage that, “She didn’t say, but she never touched us, mum.”  
  
Cassidy stepped forward, her eyes still sparkling with the magic of the moment. “A fairy, I think. Did you see her wings?” Cassidy dropped her sister’s hand and stepped toward their mother. Wrapping around her mother’s hip, she asked, “Wasn’t she beautiful?”  
  
Before she could fight it, the smile curved Miranda’s dark pink lips up and so she simply looked down at her daughter’s head and ran her fingers through her hair. “Yes, she was, darling.” A breeze blustered through the window teasing the curtain against their bare legs. Miranda stepped away and closed the window pulling the latch shut. “Now for something warm to drink, yes?” Miranda smiled as she reached out for Caroline’s hand.  
  
“Really?” Cassidy squealed as she quickly followed her mum and sister. Patricia whined at this, but padded along when Cassidy came back to ruffle her ears. Some hot chocolate and conversation really were a bit of wonder as the three Priestlys tried to explain or quantify their strange visitor. Like an early Christmas morning, each of them noticed small changes wrought throughout the house that enlivened it and brought out a sense of possibility and memories once faded, now brought to the light. Pictures, long forgotten, lay on shelves in frames of shells and the dark accents somehow had a glow about them as scenes of whimsy appeared along the moldings, on the lamp covers, and even changed accent pillows that were bright against the dark leather of the various couches and chairs of the house. Caroline and Cassidy started a pillow fight in their mother’s office while she picked up a picture of the three of them from five years before. For the first time since her husband’s funeral, Miranda looked at the picture filled with love and a sense of the future just around the corner somehow. She couldn’t really explain what was missing or when it had gone, but over the years she had fallen back on the word hope to try and encompass everything. Looking up at her children laughing and playing with the bright colored pillows amidst the wooded dark of the study that had somehow taken on a magical flavor, Miranda took a breath that finally filled her lungs and let her truly hope. As they bid their goodnights, no one saw the shadow on the wall as it followed Miranda into her room.  
  
*** *** ***  
  
Nigel quietly regarded his mentor. All week she had seemed different, but he couldn’t quite put his finger on it. Her sharp tongue and faster wit caused tears just as much this week as ever before, but there was a glint in her eye at odd moments where she had seemed to be somewhere else in her mind. The work was done with the same ruthless intensity so he couldn’t rightly say she was distracted or that her mind was wandering, but somehow she seemed to be thinking of something else while maintaining the integrity of her usual demeanor and presence.  
  
After three days of observation, Nigel had forgotten about it over the weekend, until it was Wednesday once more and Emily brought the book to him instead of the art department. His brow rose as he watched her frantic approach wondering what manner of hell had broken loose this time. From all outward appearances the same amount of yellow post-it notes indicated a normal thrashing. He couldn’t imagine what Emily’s problem was until she slammed the book down on his counter and began flipping the pages as she muttered about stars and fairies and leaves.  
  
Ignoring the red head who had likely had too much caffeine for the hour of the morning, Nigel leaned forward his hand suddenly coming out and stilling her motions. There were five yellow post-its with red ink pressing the letters into the paper like a tattoo that way even if the words disappeared, their meaning would linger on the skin of the paper. That, however, did not draw his attention, no, far more unusual was the sight of doodles at the very edges of the posties. Simple red ink drawings that were barely more than stick figures and dots for stars or magical lights. “Well, those aren’t just any stick figures, are they?” He sat back on his stool as he flipped from page to page backwards and forward taking in the whimsical scenes of flying fairies, dancing fauns, and the occasional mythological scene. He knew that the twins had lately become obsessed with the Greek myths, however since when did that interest spread over to their mother?  
  
“No.” Emily shook her head emphatically. “They are not.” The rest of her reply was swallowed up in doubt as her mind reeled with the implications of her Miranda-focused world tilted on its axis. Nigel fixed her with a look that arrested her panic in its place. So far there had been no negative indications and the twinkle he had seen in their boss’ eye seemed to be a good omen. Whimsical doodles alongside brutal critical feedback seemed like a welcome addition to him.  
  
“I’ll keep an eye out.” Nigel said in a knowing fashion that led Emily to believe he knew more than he did and that the situation was well in hand. “Now,” he stood and turned to the back wall of photos dismissing her, “Deliver that before we find out if she still has that fury she’s famous for.” Looking at the photos of the last spread, Nigel forced his mind to focus on the editorial comments that would no doubt be made instead of the tornado of questions that huffed out behind him toward the art department.  
  
For three days, Emily had come to him with increasing concern and he had waved her off. Now, he found himself at the edge of her office wondering if he had the heart to delve deeper into the mystery. However, with Emily’s curiosity fueling his own, he took his heart in his hands and stepped forward. Miranda set her pen down and looked up at him over her glasses as he approached. She picked up a folder to speak with him about the cover shoot and set it down on top of her work, but not before he saw the line drawing in blue of wide eyes, a cupid’s bow mouth, and detailed lines of a face and neck. The woman was beautiful and clearly Miranda thought so as well. Nigel deliberately jumped his focus to the photos on display now and the effect was quite jarring as he stammered and then fell into the chair opposite the silver haired editor.  
  
*** *** ***  
  
The twins had returned to their book. Another week had gone by since their strange visit and they couldn’t have been happier. Their mom seemed to have returned back into herself when speaking with them, even while Stephen returned home less and less often. They had made dinner together one night and dissolved into giggles as their mother splattered brownie batter up into her hair. She had paid them back by wiping batter on their noses. It had dissolved into a brownie batter battle that they would remember forever. The light seemed to be back in her blue eyes and she tucked them in with lingering stories and even memories shared of their littlest childhood. Every night, they returned to their book letting the pictures act out the words as they read and re-read the stories. While hope had returned to their lives, they didn’t dare wish for the lady’s return. In their minds it might just be asking too much of the world.  
  
That didn’t stop them from leaving the window open each night despite the beginnings of the chill in the air.  
  
When the wind blew the curtain, they forced themselves to not look up, but when they heard the thud of feet on the floor and the gentle tinkle of a familiar laugh, they jumped out of bed flinging their book away. “You came back.” They rushed to the woman still clad in green and wrapped around her.  
  
Her wings fluttered closed as she patted their heads.  
  
“It is quiet tonight.” The tall woman stepped further into the room and away from the girls. She tilted her head listening. It reminded the girls of their ballet teacher even with the tight bun up on her head.  
  
“Mum is at the benefit tonight.” Caroline offered her explanation.  
  
“Patricia waits for her at the door.” Cassidy added.  
  
The woman regarded them slightly confused, but then broke into a delightful smile. “What wonders shall we find tonight then?” Her bare feet stepped to the door and with a little trill on her recorder she opened the door. “Come along.” With a whisper, she stepped out into the hallway.  
  
The girls rushed after her, wondering what changes had now blessed their house. How they did not know, but the woman had changed the floor into grass and the walls into tightly packed trees. The furnishings were the same, and the halls still bent and doors opened in the right places. As they rushed down the stairs after the fairy, the twins delighted in the magic of how the image was created. How else could they have grass on the upstairs? Before they could think further, they were drawn into a game of tag with the woman who had rushed back to them. How she moved so fast or knew their house so well, they could not tell, but they could not argue with the excitement.  
  
The clock in the hall gonged the hour of midnight just as Miranda was opening the front door. The laughter of her children greeted her ears and the beautiful image of the woman they were with made her pulse quicken. Tonight they matched—Miranda in her flowing green gown and jewelry that wrapped around her neck and wrist like a vine and the fairy in her tight frock and tight leggings and sparkle of magic everywhere. For long moments they stood breathlessly looking into the depths of each other’s eyes. The magic slowly wore away as the fairy’s concentration lagged. The twins watched open mouthed, while the power flowed between their mother and their companion.  They were excited at the fluidity of the world as their house morphed back around them.  
  
Miranda went to step closer to the woman who had invaded her house, her family, and her consciousness only to find that the woman broke the spell between them and fled up the stairs and down the hall. Their mother, on towering heels, followed the fleeing woman and they in turn followed her. Awakened and alert, Patricia trailed behind them barking. The silhouette of their mother gazing out after the woman from their window took the girls breath away. Before they could say anything, she had reached forward and brought the window closed with a slam that shook the glass. Both girls jumped in their skin at this dark turn. “It is late girls.” Miranda said sadly as she turned away from the window.  
  
The girls tucked into their separate beds quickly, not saying a word as their mother kissed them goodnight.  
  
No one saw the fairy hover in the cup of the moon and sigh, her wings stuttering with her profound sadness.  
  
*** *** ***  
  
Tuesday came and went and Emily had not brought Nigel the book. Nothing to say, Nigel had simply kept his quiet observation. When another Tuesday had turned the corner he snuck into Miranda’s office, while she met with Irv about the budget. Underneath the folders, he found the original drawing from before. It took his breath away with the stunning details of the simple blue line drawing. He could feel the attention and intent of the artist looking or imagining this beautiful creature. Digging under the other piles, he saw a pencil drawing of her twins looking delightedly at the window of what he presumed was their bedroom where the dark shape of a fairy filled the square. There was no explanation for it—for any of it—the drawings, the odd glimmers of delight in Miranda’s eyes for a couple of weeks, or the strange doodles on the post-its of the book. If it were not for the mantle of despair that hung over these very things absence, he could have dismissed it as his own idle fantasies of Miranda’s changes.  
  
Instead there was now a forlorn aspect to her occasional attention lapses, as if this woman had somehow given Miranda a bright spark of hope only to dash it. Looking at the drawing again, he longed to meet this enigma if at all possible and give her a piece of his mind. Another assistant had been sent packing. For Emily’s sake, he hoped that the next assistant would last.  
  
*** *** ***  
  
Life had quieted down around the Priestly household. Stephen left the divorce papers on the desk the same day he took his things. The twins had watched all afternoon as he grabbed his belongings and stuffed the boxes into a moving van. It neither pleased them, nor depressed them. It was just how it was. A marriage that had never meant to be had run its course. They realized that they were perhaps too young to think this way, but everyone had always said they were precocious.  
  
That night their mother had closed the window. “You cannot wait for someone else to make you happy.” Miranda had told them. It hurt her heart to close that window, but she knew it was crazy fantasy that had filled her heart with delight at the appearance of the fairy. Her life was too real for that kind of daydream and she was too old to chase her foolish heart in the moonlight.  
  
“You taught us to believe in hope, mum.” Caroline said as she got out of bed and hugged her mother’s waist.  
  
“We don’t need anyone to complete us, mum. We just really like her.” Cassidy said as she hugged her mom from the other side.  
  
“My heart just hurts, girls.” Miranda murmured as she stroked her daughters’ hair.  
  
“We know.” They both mumbled into her clothes. Not a single one of them was thinking about Stephen, though not a single one of them said so. “It’s late girls.” Miranda said as she stepped away.  
  
*** *** ***  
  
Three days later the window was open for the fairy. When they heard her entrance, the twins rushed to greet her in a whisper. “You can’t be here.” They told her even as they hugged her tightly.  
  
The fairy looked down into each of their blue eyes questioning.  
  
The twins pulled away sadly. “You hurt her heart.” Caroline said quietly.  
  
When the fairy said nothing, but looked confused, Cassidy explained, “Mum, you gave us all a sense of wonder, and filled us with hope.”  
  
Caroline jumped in, “But then you left like that and hurt her.”  
  
Cassidy narrowed her eyes, “We love you.” She tilted her head, “Mum loves you, but you went away like everyone else does.”  
  
“Love?” The brunette woman bent down to look intently from girl to girl searching their eyes. The word was a question and sounded foreign on her lips. Her wings opened and fluttered behind her. “What is love?” She twirled about the room. “What is this love?” She drew the word out tasting it on her tongue.  
  
Cassidy and Caroline looked at each other uncertainly. Then Cassidy tried. “Love is sharing things together like you shared that wonder with us and played with us.”  
  
Joining in, Caroline added, “It’s unexplainable. It’s that joy you feel with another person even when they are gone.”  
  
“Memories created together and…” Cassidy ran out of words. They had been very young when their father had passed away and Stephen’s relationship with their mother had not been filled with love.  
  
“You love me?” The fairy asked them. She stepped forward to them, kneeling and then wrapping them in her arms in a hug. “This is love?” She asked them in a whisper. Their nods against her skin changed something in her heart then and as they hugged her back, her wings fluttered closed and a tear slipped down her cheek. “I have hurt you?” She questioned as her mind raced through new emotions and facts. “I have hurt her?” She stepped away wiping at her eyes. “You don’t want me to come back.” The fairy stepped back closer to the window. Her hand went up to her chest making a fist against her green frock. “This hurts.” Her eyes darted around the room, memorizing details and searching for answers. “But I have lost something.” Shaking her head, the fairy wanted to flee from her pain. “I do not understand.” Stumbling back, the fairy rushed out of the window flapping her wings hard in order to put some distance between her and the hurt.  
  
*** *** ***  
  
It was the strangest thing. Nigel had watched as the terribly awkward girl had been raked over the coals and then dismissed. It was the right decision in his mind, for the girl didn’t stand a chance at Runway. Her clothes were all wrong and, if he didn’t know any better, he would think that she had just stumbled into life now. She had that look of wonder and uncertainty about her that a newborn colt or fawn or giraffe had as it took its first steps. Runway just didn’t give a person a chance to find their feet though—it was too fast paced. So he was taken aback when in the middle of raking Gwyneth over the coals for that Golden Nugget costume, Miranda had called Emily in to get her back.  
  
Standing next to Miranda, he bent his head to go over more of the shots and discuss options for another try at the cover. The third time would either be the charm or it would be the end of that cover dream. He couldn’t care less, she was less than inspiring in her attitude. Exasperated, Emily brought the brunette with the long flowing hair back up and began to overwhelm her with the details of the job. Her name was Andrea and he didn’t know what was going on, but as usual he would watch and see.  
  
On his way out of Miranda’s office, he spared a glance to look at her. She kind of glowed and her eyes were wide and welcoming. Her face suddenly broke into a smile and then he saw it—her cupid’s bow mouth up turned in a smile in blue lines on Miranda’s paper. His shoe slid against the carpet awkwardly and he stumbled forward breaking his gaze to focus on not falling. Despite himself, he couldn’t help but smile as he heard the most beautiful laughter at his back. He turned and forced a mild glare on his features to which she immediately stopped laughing and bit her lip trying to hold in her amusement. Then he saw it, what Miranda saw. He knew it had to be true even though they hadn’t really spoken and it had only been minutes of interaction. He was certain it was love. Shaking his head in wonder at how that fanciful notion could have put itself together, he made his way back to his office. Miranda hadn’t even recognized her.  
  
*** *** ***  
  
The door opened and the twins could tell from the awkward gait that the new assistant had finally been allowed to deliver the book. Delight couldn’t begin to cover the depth of their emotions. Stephen had come by to negotiate some of the divorce details and it had devolved into an argument worse than any of the others before. The twins figured it was because they didn’t have anything to lose this time.  
  
Peering over the banister, they saw the new assistant. It was so easy to trick that too trusting girl. “Bring it up here to mum.” Cassidy whisper shouted to the nervous wreck.  
  
As the assistant’s steps approached and the shouting got louder as their mother moved to her study, the twins stepped back into their room to watch. Their mom stopped mid-word, her look ready to skin the interloper standing just at the top of the steps. Stephen looked back, amused that the untouchable Mrs. Priestly had been caught out in a heated personal argument that showed there was a woman behind the ice queen demeanor. Her brown eyes widened and her shoulders drooped as the assistant realized the mistake. The twins gasped and clutched at each other as they realized who the woman was. The glow about her was unmistakable, as was the wriggle of her shoulders when she would have normally fluttered her wings. They nearly blew their cover by stepping forward, but Stephen made a low remark and their mother stepped into her study slamming the door on him.  
  
*** *** ***  
  
“What is it, Miranda?” Nigel could no longer hold himself back. “Where do you know her from? What hold does she have on you?” Nigel had seen the looks pass between the two women, their eyes caressing as certainly as hands would. The hunger had only grown in Miranda’s blue eyes over the last few months. There had been the strange distracted time, followed by what had seemed like heartache, only to have hired this girl and turned her into a swan. Nigel took credit for the swan part, although he had to admit that she did have an innate presence and beauty that she just didn’t seem to realize how to use. He had watched this assistant take to Runway like a fish to water once she had decided not to fight it and go with it.  
  
Never before had he seen the trust and responsibility build between an assistant and Miranda like this before.  
  
Miranda turned confused blue eyes up at him and he took a step back. ‘She doesn’t know.’ His mind reeled in that fact like hauling a giant prize fish up on deck. He reached forward pushing things around on her desk until he found the blue line drawing. “Her.” He pointed his finger at the wide soulful eyes staring at her. “Where do you know her from?”  
  
Pulling the drawing out from under the pile on her desk, Miranda was irritated that he had snooped around and found it and confused as to what he meant. “Nigel, what are you talking about? It’s just a drawing.”  
  
Frowning, Nigel pointed out to the assistants’ desks. “Why did you hire her, Miranda?”  
  
Miranda looked at the picture once more wondering what had gotten into Nigel. She set it back down on her desk and rolled her chair back toward the window where she stood looking out. “I was tired of the clackers.” She said tiredly as she played with the large beads of her necklace.  
  
“Andrea.” Nigel called out. Miranda forced herself not to look back at the girl. She had no doubt it would only prove Nigel’s point whatever it was. “Would you mind taking off your jacket?” He asked her much to Miranda’s consternation. Pulling a rubber band out of his pocket, Nigel came around the desk and pushed Andrea into the chair with a gasp.  
  
At her name, Miranda turned around her breath catching in her throat as her pulse throbbed harder in her veins. A tall brunette with a tight bun, beautiful eyes that called out to her in question, a cupid’s bow mouth with lips that were just parted as if readying or recovering from a kiss, and a tight green cashmere sweater that hugged her body. Miranda blinked against the weight of her recognition and stampeding feelings only when her eyes closed she also saw fluttering wings and a recorder in the girl’s belt.  
  
Gasping recognition, Miranda stepped closer until her thighs were pressed against the barrier of her desk.  
  
Andrea’s eyes widened and even as she backed away, her gaze did not falter from Miranda’s blue eyes. The air crackled with emotions as they both felt the hearts beating wildly in their chests and each recalled the night when Miranda had come home in the green flowing gown and fauna inspired jewelry that matched so handsomely with the mysterious fairy woman’s frock, leggings, and aura.  
  
Andrea looked as though she was about to leave when Miranda rounded the desk and called her name. “Andrea.” The tall beautiful brunette came to a stop and Nigel stepped away closing the doors behind him. “Please don’t go away again.” Miranda whispered.  
  
Standing tall, Andrea waited torn between the desire to run and the desire to once again rise to the occasion. Every challenge she had taken on since meeting Miranda, coming to this strange land in the daylight, and working for her had given her a thrill. It was so different from her land beyond the stars.  
  
Miranda had stepped quite close by this time. Her eyes raking over the woman she had come to rely on and curiously be drawn to over the last several months. Nothing had changed, except for everything. Not touching yet, Miranda quietly asked, “You came to my house, to my girls?” Blue eyes searched brown filling with hope with every breath.  
  
“Yes.” Andrea breathlessly murmured to the woman who had stolen her heart before she even could understand what that meant. Tears filled her eyes at the gentleness flowing off of Miranda. Getting to know her more ferocious workself, had convinced the fairy that she would not be pleased when she found out about her. It was a true testament to what was between them, that Miranda had not shown any of her ire. The tears fell from her eyes in a silent race down her cheeks.  
  
“What is it, Andrea?” Reaching out uncertainly, Miranda cupped her cheek brushing the tears away with her thumb. Andrea shook her head slightly and wiped at her eyes with the back of her hand.  
  
“I didn’t want to give up my wings.” Andrea shrugged helplessly. When she looked into Miranda’s eyes they both froze at the well of emotion held within. “My shadow though, it stayed at your house. I had to come back.”  
  
Vaguely remembering something from Peter Pan that sounded similar, Miranda caressed Andrea’s cheek once more. “I will sew it back on for you.” Miranda let her hand slip down Andrea’s neck to her shoulder, but she didn’t hang onto her with any amount of force. Miranda searched Andrea’s eyes with pure unadulterated hope shining in her own blue ones. “Why did you come here?” With a subtle nod, Miranda indicated the office they were in.  
  
Grabbing hold of Miranda in a tight embrace, her arms wrapping tightly around until she held her own arms again, Andrea murmured, “Love.” The heat of her answer burned from Andrea’s lips against the skin of Miranda’s neck.  
  
Miranda stepped out of the embrace, “Love?” She queried, while her eyes searched from brown eyes to rosy lips and back.  
  
“The girls showed me love.” Andrea hugged Miranda again pulling away to elaborate. “I hurt them, hurt you.” Andrea’s brow wrinkled under the weight of the new understanding that still troubled her. “It was love.” Andrea hugged Miranda tightly. “It hurt me too.”  
  
Letting out a breath of air filled with awe, Miranda held the tall brunette tighter.  
  
“They told me not to come back.” Andrea’s lips brushed against Miranda’s neck. “But it was love. I just didn’t understand.”  
  
For many minutes they stood holding onto each other. Their shared warmth filled them from within and the freedom of their words brought them much joy. “We must talk, you know?” Miranda said lovingly to her companion.  
  
“Yes.” Andrea nodded as she stepped away from Miranda. She smiled widely as Miranda grasped her hand and entwined their fingers.  
  
Pulling Andrea behind her, Miranda informed Emily on the way out. “We’re leaving for the day. Have them hold the book.” Emily gasped and then sent herself into a frenzy instead of continuing to gape at the two women like a fish.  
  
*** *** ***  
  
“Andy!” The girls chorused as they entered the kitchen and rushed forward for hugs.  
  
“Girls.” Miranda quietly scolded them from across the kitchen. They quickly stood up and slipped their shoes off. Then they ran and stashed them with their backpacks before rushing back to hug their mother.  
  
“You’re home early!” They exclaimed.  
  
Miranda leveled a look at them that made them wish for the ground to open up and swallow them whole. “I just found out something that you’ve known for months.” She said quietly.  
  
At this statement the twins looked up and then from their mum to Andy and back. “Sorry, mum.” Cassidy mumbled as she stepped forward and hugged her mom.  
  
“Yeah, sorry, mum.” Caroline breathlessly said as she rushed to hug her mum on the other side. “We thought you’d be upset.”  
  
Andrea’s voice drew the twins attention back. “She was at first.” Her wide smile disarmed all three of the Priestlys as they couldn’t help but return the smile. “But I think we’ve worked it out now.” Andrea stood and hugged their mum with a short laugh that made them practically bounce on their toes as they piled into both of them for a group hug.  
  
When they stepped away, Cassidy went to get sodas for herself and Caroline, while their mother readied some tea. Caroline followed Andy back to the kitchen table. “Did you get your shadow?”  
  
Andrea leaned forward and whispered loud enough for Miranda and Cassidy to hear, “Your mum sewed it back on.”  
  
“Wicked.” Cassidy exclaimed as she approached the table. “That’s like Peter Pan.”  
  
“What’s that?” Andrea asked them.  
  
The girls took off at a run to get their book. They started at the table reading, while Miranda prepared a dinner and watched over her family. Then they continued after dinner in the girls’ room where they had all met. Andrea pointed out how alike and how different they were. She laughed at the antics of the nanny and the goings on of Tink and the Lost Boys. Miranda alternately rested her hand on Andrea’s thigh while they read and reached out to smooth her girls’ hair. It had been a long time since their hearts had been so light and so filled with love.  
  
*** *** ***  
  
Outside the twins’ room Andrea admitted, “It is weird to not fly out the window tonight.”  
  
Miranda held Andrea close to her, feeling so natural already in their companionship. “Where do you go each night?”  
  
Giggling slightly, Andrea ducked her head and answered, “Neverland.”  
  
Stroking up and down the green cashmere sweater, Miranda coyly asked, “Am I the Wendy-lady?”  
  
Rubbing her nose against Miranda’s the fairy answered, “Only if I can give you a kiss.”  
  
Eyes dancing, breaths so close to each other lips, they hovered there, “Would you?” Miranda dared to hope.  
  
Andrea’s eyes fluttered but she whispered, “For love, I’d give up my wings, but not my wonder.” Her eyes closed as she leaned in that last millimeter, her lips brushing against Miranda’s as their hands pulled them closer together and their lips opened against each other, their tongues tasting each other for the first time. Miranda felt the chill of grass between her toes as she felt and heard the flutter of Andrea’s wings. Pulling back, but not letting go, Miranda looked around them. She could just see the walls of trees and the door at the end of the hall to her room. The house was transformed much like the last night she had seen the beautiful fairy and their eyes had locked as the magic dissipated around them. Pulling Andrea with her, Miranda made her way to her room.  
  
*** *** ***  
  
Together they had sat on the edge of the bed, at first tenderly exploring each other’s mouths and then with more fever. Andrea’s wonder made for some awkward moments as well as deepening the tenderness shared between them. They did not rush or push, but moved together toward the crashing waves of pleasure together. Andrea’s cashmere sweater was pulled up and then off. Miranda gasped and then traced the lines of her bra around sensitive flesh before teasing the already erect nipples hidden underneath the lace. She unhooked their cage freeing them and then turning her lover over, she traced the delicate edges of her tucked in wings. Andrea let them unfurl and open so that Miranda could trace and kiss the incandescent lines. Turning her lover back to face her, Miranda kissed the front edge of the wings until her lips pressed against the heated curve of Andrea’s neck. Then she kissed Andrea’s arms all the way down, until she kissed and sucked on each of her fingers.  
  
Tucking her wings away again, Andrea reached out wanting to feel Miranda’s skin, to worship her as Miranda had. Shaking fingers unbuttoned her blouse and then delighted at the first glimpse of her more intimate pale flesh. Leaning forward to kiss and nuzzle against her drew moans from them both. Andrea fumbled with the front clasp, but then she simply pressed her hands under the fabric of the bra and shirt cupping what she so desperately wanted. “This is love?” She smiled against Miranda’s skin, nipping gently at her neck.  
  
Pulling the fabric away to grant Andrea full access pressed Miranda’s breasts up in the most delicious way. “Yes, this is love.” She moaned as Andrea’s hot mouth engulfed one nipple while the other was circled with soft fingertips that throbbed against the sensitive nerves. Miranda pulled Andrea with her as she fell back on the bed. “Creating memories together.” She whispered as she pulled Andrea up the bed with her.  
  
Miranda’s hands pulled Andrea above her where she could palm Andrea’s breasts while they kissed—their tongues danced together, lips slid against each other, and teeth occasionally nibbled. Pausing for breath and taking in the beauty of the woman underneath her, Andrea murmured, “Sharing joy together.” Miranda pulled Andrea to her and then reached down between them to unbutton her jeans. Recognizing a new step in this process, Andrea quickly helped to shed her jeans and then Miranda’s trousers. Laying her body against Miranda’s she reveled in the feel of so much flesh touching for the first time.  
  
Sensing that her lover was overwhelmed, Miranda turned them in a heated kiss so that they were facing each other on their sides. “Just enjoy, love. Just enjoy.” Miranda let her toes play against Andrea’s and smoothed her hand along her back. She slowed the kisses down between them and allowed for lingering looks into her lover’s eyes.  
  
Eventually Andrea kissed her more fervently, her hand tugging on the band of Miranda’s panties. “I want to feel you.” She whispered hopefully. Looking into Andrea’s eyes, Miranda saw the pure desire there and she pulled her panties down. Andrea copied her.  
  
Andrea leaned in for a kiss, closing her eyes and letting her instincts guide her. She reached out caressing Miranda’s cheek and then smoothing down over the curve of her shoulder, tickling against her rib cage and then pressing warm against Miranda’s hip. Feeling the anticipation and trying not to rush things, Miranda renewed their kiss as her fingers teased against Andrea’s nipple between their bodies. Andrea tentatively traced the curve of Miranda’s hip, until she bent her leg to raise it slightly. Just touching the wiry hairs with her fingertips made Miranda moan. Andrea delighted in the rush of sensations through her body of Miranda’s pulling ache on her nipple combining with the thrill of touching her lover’s intimate place. Fighting against giving in to the waves of ecstasy, Miranda sucked in a breath of air and pinched Andrea’s nipple quite hard. When Andrea’s fingers dipped into the wet desire between her legs, Miranda slid her hand down Andrea’s side grabbing hold of her hip quite fiercely.  
  
Coating her fingers all the way to her knuckles, Andrea reveled in the feel of the hard bud above Miranda’s sex, the soft give of the fleshy hood around it and the lips down her slit. She did not have words for what she was doing or feeling, however 'amazing' about covered it. Miranda’s hips were undulating forward and back into the motions of her play. Their kisses were fewer, but fierce as their eyes opened, locked on each other, and another wave of pleasure rocked between them. When Miranda nudged Andrea’s leg up with her knee, she complied with a moan. Miranda did not hesitate to press aginst Andrea’s sex coating her fingers with arousal. In no time at all, they were panting against each other, uttering names, and praise, and nonsense, until they were both shuddering and shaking against each other, their erect nipples brushing together triggering wave after wave of ecstasy.  
  
*** *** ***  
  
In the morning, the twins hugged Andrea in the kitchen. “You stayed.” They exclaimed against her clothes. She patted their hair, a smile across her face wider than ever before.  
  
“I did.” She bent down and hugged them tighter. “This is love.”  
  
“Oh, Andy.” Caroline cooed as she renewed her hug stance.  
  
“Alright!” Cassidy hooted as she jumped in their hug nearly knocking them down.  
  
“Thank you for teaching me.” Andrea murmured to them, but also over their heads to their mother.  
  
Patricia stepped into the kitchen behind Miranda and gave a woof to add her approval to the deal.  
  
 _ **The End.**_  
  
xxx


End file.
